Automatic furnace apparatus



May 21, 1929.

- R.' M. ANDRE AUTOMATIC FURNACE APPARATUS Filed NOV. 2, 1926 IsNvZvTOFL m/1T -1 .......a May 21, 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

ROGER run-cm. ANDRE, OI IOMEHAY-BOUl-DOIS, I'BAICE' AUTOIA'IIC I'mACEAPPARATUS.

Application ma Iovember 2, 1m, Serial Io. 145,701, and in FranceIovember 17, me.

My invention relates to a furnace ada ted for automatic loadingandcleaning, w ich provides for an active and continuous comustion ofordinary fuel, and is chiefly characterized by the fact that the firepot is mounted upon a swinging support so disposed that thedisplacements of said su port due to the difference in the weight resuting from the progressive diminut1on of the fuel during the combustionwill serve to control the supply of fuel to the furnace. My saidautomatic furnace apparatus may be iven numerous and difierentapplications but it is chiefly adapted for domestic uses, since it hasfor its primary object to obviate the disadvanta s arising from a slowcombustion, such as t e production of carbon monoxide. which representsa loss of heat as well as a source of danger, and the necesit ofemploying special grades of fuel whic are ve expensive as a neral rule.

Furt er characteristics, advantages and typical examples of applicationsof my said apparatus will be disclosed in the followin description withreference to the append drawings. In the latter, which are-solely givenby way of example:

Fig. 1 is a .vertical sectional view of a furnace rovided with theautomatic loading and c caning device according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is, on a larger scale, a plan view of the reversing device forregulating the tension of the springs acting on the loading and cleaningdevice.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lower side of the cover of the receptaclefor the fuel.

In the constructions shown in the drawing, 1 is a fire pot supported btwo levers 2 which are connected toge er. The said levers are pivoted atone end upon two knife edges 3 and one of said levers is su ported atthe other end by a spring 1'. 161a said fire pot is loaded by a movab efuel receptacle 4 which discharges the fuel into a stationary hopper 5from whose-lower oblique portion the fuel will be suitably deliveredupon the grate. The said fuel receptacle is mounted upon a rack rod 6 bymeans of a spider 7 and rod 8. The said rack rod is actuated by a pinion9 which is secured to a pulley 10 driven by a cable 11 which is attachedto a. driving weight 12. A gear wheel 13, driven by the pulley 10 on thesame shaft 40, provides-through suitable speed-raising mounted on thesliding member,

gear wheels 1313'14 mounted on shafts 41-42-a ra id rotation of thebrake drum 15. The sai brake drum is held fast when the weight of thecoal in the fire pot is suflicient, for instance by a brake 2' carriedby one of the levers 2. B reason of the combustion, the weight of t ecoal will'diminish gradually, and the spri r, whose tension will thenovercome the weight of the fire pot and its contents, will disengage thebrake 2' from the drum 15. The movable device is' thus released and isactuated by its said driving weight, so that the fuel receptacle willrise and will discharge the fuel into the furnace. This motion willcease when the furnace receives a uantit of fuel such that its weightwill sul ce to ring the brake -2' again into contact with the brake drum15 which, by reason of its speed, canbe stopped by a very slightpressure. This device will t erefore provide for the loading of thefurnace by small quantities and according to the requirements of thecombustion.

The device for clean' the furnace grate comprises a lever 16 which ispivoted at a and is provided at one end with a cleaner consisting ofteeth 17. The said lever rests upon the lower part 18 of a slidingmember 19 which is suspended from a s ring 1'. A wheel 20 with ratchetteeth wliich 1s actuated by the pulley 10, will rotate slightly eachtime that the apparatus is loaded, and one of its teeth, coacting with atafipet 21 th 'd be h h lower esa1 mem r,t usstretc ing espring r Aftera few such loading operations,

7 when the cleaner which follows the movemmt of the sliding member hasassumed the position shown in the dot-and-dash lines, the said tappetwhich moves in a straight line will be disen from the tooth; the springrwillabru'ptly bring back the slid member which by means of its end 18W1 raise the said cleaner whose teeth 17 are now inserted between theate bars so as to cause 1 0 the ashes to fall an to more or less stir upthe. layer of fuel according to the initial tension of the s ring r.This action takes place for a very s ort time, for the cleaner at oncedrops upon the lowerpart or the said sliding 1 member from which it hadbeen released due to the efiect of the spring r, the return motion ofthe sliding member being limited to the contact between the said tappetand the succeeding tooth of the wheel 20. The frequency of the cleaningoperations will therefore be proportional to the quantity of fuel sulied b the fuel recipient.

o regu ate the firing, it is simply necessary to adl'liist a lever 22which is pivoted at b and to w ch are attached the springs r and r Saidlever 22 may be operated by hand or mechanically. When the handle ofsaid lever is lowered, the tension of said spring is increased, so thatthe brake 2' will only bear on the drum 15 for a greater weight in thefire pot and the lever 16 with the teeth 17 will be actuated by thespring 1 with a greater strength; due to the eflicacy of thecleaning,agood draft of air will be afforded.

This effective method of regulation can be utilized in connection withan automatic regulation by which tlfe rate of combustion depends uponthe requirements in certain cases, for instance where it is desired tomaintain a constant temperature in a room when the outside temperatureis variable. Since a certain source of power is available, consisting ofthe said driving weight, the weight may be employed to displace thelever 22; for instance (Fig. 2) upon one of the shafts 41 of the deviceis mounted a driving member 23 adapted for lengthwise displacement bymeans of a lever 24 adapted for instance to move in one direction whenthe temperature in a given room increases and in t e opposite directionwhen said temperature decreases. The said driving member will rotate theshaft 25 carrying the beveled wheel 45 either way according as one orthe other of the loose wheels 43, 44 of the reversing device is engagedwith the said driving member. The shaft 25 controls the movement of thelever 22 by means of a pinion 26 and a rack 27 or by like means.

A cover 30 is disposed in the fuel receptacle to cover the fuel, and itis held by a rod 31 upon a bracket 32, so that it remains on the samelevel when the said receptacle is raised, thus reducing the height .ofthe pile of fuel above the hopper and obliging the fuel to dropregularly into the furnace.

Said cover may be provided at the lower part with ribs 35 and may berotated by the pulley 36.coacting with a cable'll, with interposition ofsupporting pulleys 37. The projections 35 are inclined in such manner asto displace the coal towards the center, so that it will more readilyfall into the hopper (Fig. 3). The said rotating cover will rovideforthe use of coal of larger size t an can be employed with astationaryQ fuel, thus furthering the combustion of the gases.

A comparatively small driving wei ht can be used, since it will have anavaila le descent stroke corresponding to the height of the roomcontainin the a paratus, and this will much exceed t e stroke of thefuel receptacle. The weight is raised into position by a crank 46mounted on the pulley shaft 40, and this causes at the same time thedescent of the fuel receptacle, which is thus prelepared to receiveanother charge of fuel.

t will thus be noted that the heat of the furnace will offer noprejudice to the good functioning of the apparatus, and that the furnaceaccording to the invention will assure an efiicient utilization of thefuel, since the weight of fuel upon the grate is constant, the loadingbeing effected in small quantities; the cleaner provides for the properdistribution of the air whereby the grate will be cooled in a regularmanner. The volatile substances and the coal will thus be burned in theoptimum conditions, and it should be observed that the combustion willbe furthered by the heated wall of the furnace, the small supply of airabove the fuel and the space which is made sufficient for the freedevelopment of the flames.

The use of a furnace according to the in vention with all suitableheating apparatus will offer the following principal advantages: Thefunctioning is automatic and thus assures a continuous heating withordinary grades of coal; a great saving of fuel is obtained; hy enicconditions are assured by reason of t e energetic combustion whereby allproduction of carbon monoxide is obviated and a good smoke consumptioninsured; the furnace has a reduced size; the regulation is effected inan approved manner; automatic regulation of t e combustion may beprovided according to the heating requirements.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: 1. In an automatic furnace apparatus, afire pot adapted to contain fuel, movable levers connected together andadapted to support said fire pot, yielding means adapted to act on saidlevers to in e said fire t in an upper position, a-movalile receptac efor storing fuel, means adapted to cooperate with said receptacle forconveying said fuel from the receptacle to the fire pot, power meansadapted to move said receptacle into position to discharge into theconveying means, and means operatively connected with said levers andadapted to control said power means in response to the weight of thefuel in the fire pot.

2. In an automatic furnace apparatus, a fire pot adapted to containfuel, movable levers connected together and adapted to support said firepot, yielding means adapted to act on said evers to ur said fire pot inan upper position, a mova le receptacle for storing fuel, means adaptedto coo rate with said receptacle for conveying said fuel from thereceptacle to the fire pot, a rotatable axle, power. means adapted torotate said axle, cooperating means operatively connected with said axleand with said receptacle and adapted to move said receptacle intoposition to discharge into the conveying means, a brake drum adapted tobe rotated by said axle and a brake 0 eratively connected with saidlevers and a apted to be appliedon the brake drum by the weight of thefuel in the fire pot.

3. In an automatic furnace apparatus, a fire pot adapted to containfuel, movable levers connected together and adapted to support said firepot, yielding means adapted to act on said levers to mg? said fire potin an upper position, a mova le receptacle for storing fuel,'meansadapted to coo rate with said receptacle for conveying sai fuel from thereceptacle to the fire pot, a rotatable axle, power means adapted torotate said axle, cooperating means operatively connected with said axleand with said receptacle and adapted to move said receptacle intoposition to discharge into the conveying means, a brake drum, a speedgear interposed between said axle and said brake drum and adapted to becontrolled by said axle and to rotate said brake drum at a high speed,and a brake operatively connected with said levers and adapted to beapplied on the brake drum by the weight of the fuel in the fire pot.

4. In an automatic 'furnace apparatus, a fire pot adapted to containfuel, movable leversadapted to su port said fire pot, an adjustablespring a apted to act on said levers to urge said fire pot in an upperposition, a movable receptacle for storing fuel, means adapted tocooperate with said receptacle for conve ing said fuel from thereceptacle to the fi re pot, power means adapted to move said receptacleinto position to discharge into the conve i'ng means, and meansoperatively connec with said levers and adapted to control said powermeans in response to the weight of the fuel in the fire pot.

5. In an'automatic furnace apparatus for maintaining in a room atemperature comprised between predetermined upper and lower limits, afire pot adapted to contain fuel, movable levers adapted to support saidfire pot, a spring adapted to act with one of its ends on said leverspot in an u per position, 'a' movable member on whic the other end ofsaid spring is attached, means adapted to move said member in onedirection so as to increase the tension of said spring and in theopposite direction so as to decrease the tension of said springrespectively for said predeterto urge said fire i mined lower and up rlimits of temperature,

a movable-receptac e for storing fuel, means adapted to 000 rate withsaid receptacle for conveying sai fuel from the receptacle to the firepot, power means ada ted to move said-receptacle into position toischarge into the conve means, and means operatively connec with saidlevers and adapted to control said. power means in response to theweight of the fuel in the fire pot.

6. In an automatic furnace apparatus for maintaining in a room a temrature oomrised between predetermin upper and ower limits, a fire potadapted to contain fuel, movable levers adapted tosupport said fire pot,a spring adapted to act with one of its ends on said levers to urge saidfire pot in an upper position, a movable member on which the other endof said spring is attached, a movable receptacle for storing fuel, meansadapted to cooperate with said receptacle for conveying said fuel fromthe receptacle to the fire pot, power means adapted to move saidreceptacle into position to dischar e into the conveying means, meansoperative y connect- ,ed with said levers and adapted to control saidpower means in response to the weight of the fuel in the fire pot, amovable arm adapted to be moved in one direction for an increasingtemperature and in the opposite direction for a decreasing temperature,a shaft adapted to be rotated by said power means, two gear wheels withclutch members loosely mounted on said shaft, a sleeve operativelyconnected with said movable arm and carrying clutch members adapted torotate with said shaft and to slide along said shaft between said twogear wheels so as to engage one of the two gear wheels respectively ,forsaid predetermined lower and u per limits of temperature, a third gear weel adapted to eng constantly the two first mentioned gear w eels andmeans operatively connecting said third gear wheel with said movablemember to which said sprin isattached.

7 ii an automatic furnace apparatus a fire pot adapted to contain fuel,movable levers connected together and adapted to support said fire pot,yielding means adapted to act on said levers to urge said fire pot in anupper position, a movible receptacle for storing fuel, a stationaryconveyor passin through the bottom of said receptacle an adapted toguide said receptacle and to convey said fuel by gravity from thereceptacle to the fire pot, wer means ada -to move said receptacle intoposition to discharge into the conveyor and means operatively connect--ed with said levers and adapted to control said power means in responseto the weight of the fuel in the fire. pot.

8. In an automatic furnace apparatus. a fire pot adapted to containfuel, movable levers connected together and adapted to support said firepot, yielding means adapted to act on said levers to urge said fire potin an upper position, a movable receptacle for storing fuel, astationary conveyor passing through the bottom of said receptacle andadapted to guide said receptacle and to convey said fuel by gravity fromthe receptacle to the fire pot, power means adapted to move saidreceptacle into position to dlscharge into the conveyor, meansoperatively connected with said levers and adapted to control said powermeans in response to the weight of the fuel in the fire pot, and a coverfor said receptacle adapted to remain on the same level and to cause thefuel. to drop regularly into the conveying means.

9. In an automatic furnace apparatus, a fire pot adapted to containfuel, movable levers connected together and adapted to support said firepot, yielding means adapted to act on said levers to urge said fire potin an upper position, a movable receptacle for storing fuel, astationary conveyor passing through the bottom of said receptacle andadapted to guide said receptacle and to convey said fuel by gravity fromthe receptacle to the fire pot, power means adapted to move saidreceptacle into position to discharge into the conveyor, meansoperatively connected with said levers and adapted to control said powermeans in response to the weight of the fuel in the fire pot, a rotatablecover for said receptacle adapted to remain on the same level, means"adapted to be operated by said power means and to rotate said cover andribs pro'ecting into said receptacle and adapted y their eccentricposition on said cover to displace thecoal towards the conveying means.4

10. In an automatic furnace apparatus, a fire pot with a grate adaptedto contain fuel, movable levers connected together and adapted tosupport said fire pot, yielding means adapted to act on said levers tourge said fire pot in an upper position, a movable receptacle for storinfuel, means adapted to coo rate with sai receptacle for conveying saidfuel from the receptacle to the fire pot, power means adapted to movesaid receptacle into position to discharge into. the conveying means,means operatively connected with said levers and adapted to control saidpower means in response to the weight of the fuel in the fire pot, amovable bar, projecting parts carried by said bar and adapted to engagethrough said grate and means adapted to be controlled by said powermeans and to reciprocate said projecting parts through the grate. 4

11. In an automatic furnace apparatus, a fire pot with a grate adaptedto contain fuel, movable levers connected together and adapted tosupport said fire pot, yielding I means adapted to act on said levers tourge said fire pot in an upper position, a movable receptacle forstoring fuel, means adapted to cooperate with said receptacle forconveying said fuel from the receptacle to the fire pot,'power meansadapted to move said receptacle into position to discharge into theconveying means, means operatively connected with said levers andadapted to control said power means in response to the weight of thefuel in the fire pot, a movable bar, projecting parts carried by saidbar and adapted to engage through said grate, a sliding rod adapted tocarry said bar, a spring adapted to draw on said rod to urge said barwith said projecting parts towards the grate, a nose on said rod and amember carrying push pieces adapted to be rotated by said power meansand to engage intermittently said nose, whereby the bar is given arocking motion.

12. In an automatic furnace apparatus, a fire pot with a grate adaptedto contain fuel, movable levers connected together and adapted tosupport said fire pot, yielding means adapted to act on said levers tourge said fire pot in an upper position, a movable receptacle forstoring fuel, means adapted tocooperate with said receptacle forconveying said fuel from the receptacle to the fire pot, power meansadapted to move said receptacle intg position to discharge into theconveying means, means operatively connected with said levers andadapted to control said power means in response to the weight of thefuel in the fire pot, a movable bar, projecting parts carried by saidbar and adapted to engage through said grate, a sliding rod adapted tocarry said bar, a spring attached on one side to said rod and adapted todraw on said rod to urge said bar with said rejecting parts towards thegrate, a mova 1e member on which the other end of said spring isattached, means adapted to move said member in one direction so as toincrease the tension of said s ring and in the opposite direction so asto ecrease the tension of said spring, a nose on said rod and a membercarrying push-pieces adapted to be rotated by said power means and toengage intermittently said nose, whereby the bar is given a rockingmotion.

13. In an, automatic furnace apparatus for maintaining in a room atemperature comprised between predtermined upper and lower limits, afire pot with a grate adapted to contain fuel, movable levers adapted tosupport said fire pot, afirst spring adapted to act with on'e of itsends on said levers to urge said fire pot in an upper position, amovable bar, projecting parts carried by said bar and adapted to engagethrough the grate, a sliding rod adapted to carry said bar, a secondsprin adapted to draw with one of its ends on said rod to urge said barwith said projecting parts towards the grate, a movable member on whichare attached the other into position to ends of the first and secondsprings, means adapted to move said member in one direction so as toincrease the tension of said springs and in the opposite direction so asto decrease the tension of said springs respectively for saidpredetermined lower and upper limits of temperature, a movablereceptacle for storing fuel, means adapted to cooperate with saidreceptacle for conveying said fuel from the receptacle to the fire pot,power means adagstced to move said receptacle harge into the conveyingmeans, means operatively connected with said levers and adapted tocontrol said power means in response to the weight of the fuel in thefire pot, a nose on said rod and a member carrying push-pieces adaptedto be rotated by said power means and to engage intermittently saidnose, whereby the bar is given a rocking motion.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

Roses MARCEL ANDRE.

